Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that accepts inputs from an input screen, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus that accepts inputs through an input screen selectively displayed on a display of an operation terminal from a plurality of input screens configured with software key groups different from each other.
Description of the Related Art
Portable information terminals such as smart phones and tablet PCs (Personal Computers) have recently been sophisticated, and people own individual portable information terminals instead of PCs. Portable information terminals allow users to view and edit electronic documents anywhere as desired. Portable information terminals have been used in various situations in business and daily life.
With the sophistication of portable information terminals, there is a demand for cooperation between an image forming apparatus and a portable information terminal in a display system including an image forming apparatus equipped with an operation panel and a portable information terminal capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus.
In general, an image forming apparatus includes an operation panel that displays setting screens. A setting screen accepts settings of a variety of jobs and includes a plurality of input areas (input value display areas). When accepting a touch operation in an input area from the user, the image forming apparatus sets the input area in a selected state and accepts inputs into the selected input area through a variety of software keys (for example, soft ten-key pad) displayed on the operation panel or a variety of hardware keys (for example, hard ten-key pad) of the operation panel.
An example of the cooperation between an image forming apparatus and a portable information terminal is that the image forming apparatus accepts an input into an input area in a setting screen appearing on the operation panel, through a keyboard appearing on the display of the portable information terminal, in place of the software keys or hardware keys of the operation panel.
Document 1 below discloses a technique that facilitates activation of functions of a portable terminal using a keyboard. The portable terminal in Document 1 includes a display and a keyboard. The portable terminal displays a command input area for accepting input of a command (statement) and accepts input of a command from the keyboard. The portable terminal performs the function corresponding to the input command (for example, starting up a menu screen).
Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-87570
The configuration above, however, complicates the operation with the portable information terminal.
The portable information terminal has a plurality of keyboards having software key groups different from each other (for example, a keyboard for inputting Japanese characters, a keyboard for inputting numbers, and a keyboard for inputting alphabetic characters) and selectively displays one of those keyboards on the display. The input areas in a setting screen appearing on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus may include an input area that only accepts inputs of alphabetic characters and numbers, such as an input area for accepting a password entry. Some input areas only accept inputs of Japanese characters, such as an input area for accepting a user name entry.
For example, in a case where the keyboard appearing on the portable information terminal is a keyboard for inputting numbers (ten-key pad), when the selected input area in the setting screen is an input area that accepts only inputs of Japanese characters, the user has to switch the keyboard to be displayed on the portable information terminal to a keyboard for inputting Japanese characters or switch the selected input area in the setting screen to an input area that accepts number inputs. In a case where the keyboard appearing on the portable information terminal is a keyboard for inputting alphabetic characters, when the selected input area in the setting screen is an input area that only accepts number inputs (ten-key inputs), the user has to switch the keyboard to be displayed on the portable information terminal to a keyboard for inputting numbers or switch the selected input area in the setting screen to an input area that accepts alphabetic inputs.
This is not a problem peculiar to the case where an image forming apparatus and a portable information terminal cooperate but possibly occurs in the operation terminal in a case where the information processing apparatus accepts inputs through an input screen selectively displayed on the display of the operation terminal from a plurality of input screens configured with software key groups different from each other.
An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus with the ease of operation on an operation terminal.